Recent discussions on poetry and philosophy have tended to focus on how these two modes ofwriting might â€œthinkâ€ differentlyâ€"while philosophy depends on logic, reason, or argumentation,poetry has recourse to non-rational or trans-rational methods, affect, and musicality. Butdiscussions of poetry â€œthinkingâ€ are often reduced to the paraphrase of an argument supposedlycontained in the poem, an argument that seems to follow the rules of philosophy, traditionallyconceived. But rather than distinguishing between them, might we not consider what philosophycan contribute to the reading of poetry, and poetry to the practice of philosophy? Rather thantrying to discover an idea embodied in a poem, we seek to understand how philosophical claimsmight impact reading practice, and lessons learned through poetry might be brought to bear onphilosophical assumptions and methods.

We welcome papers examining this issue from either direction, and from both theoretical andpractical perspectives, as well as papers from any periods or nationalities. We are especiallyinterested in papers taking polemical positions concerning the relationship of these two modesof thought, and how they might have impacted one another.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:--Aesthetic categories: how poets have reconceived or refigured traditional aesthetic categories,or how philosophers have dealt with categories possibly generated through poetry--The critical importance of a poetry/philosophy interaction: does it matter? Has thepoetry/philosophy discussion impacted other critical approaches (historicism, cultural studies)?--How do we philosophically engage with poems not apparently about philosophy? Or,philosophy not apparently about poetry or poetics?--Poetry beyond metaphysics: how can poetry engage aesthetics, ethics, or kinds of philosophynot at home in philosophy departments?--How does the poetry/philosophy connection allow us to think poetryâ€™s connection to a non-textual reality?--Evaluative judgments of poetry: is philosophy-driven poetry somehow more valuable orinteresting? What does it mean for a poem to be interesting? Can rethinking thepoetry/philosophy connection reconfigure our notions of â€œconcept poetryâ€ and â€œartifact poetryâ€?

Please submit abstracts (250-500 words) by April 21. The 2008 meeting of the Midwest ModernLanguage Association will be held Nov. 13-16 the Marriott City Center in Minneapolis, MN.Please see http://www.uiowa.edu/~mmla for more information.